Title: The High and Low of Faith
Contents
The adherents and sewers of faith (Romans 15:1-4)
I have a lot to learn from watching “Master of Life,” which is popular these days. Those masters have skills that others do not dare to imitate. That's why he was called a master in one field.
I looked at it a few days ago and saw that there are “masters of delivering newspapers”, “masters of cutting plates,” “masters of breaking eggs,” and “masters of making rubber shoes.”
It took an extraordinary effort for them to reach that point. These were people who knew how to use their brains in their work and had been engaged in that field for a long time.
But what was special was that everyone did it while enjoying what they were doing. And that's a lot of hard work. As I looked at it, I thought that our faith has both ups and downs. The life of faith is not something everyone is good at. There is also a master and a sewer here, so who is the master of faith?
What should I do to become a master of the faith? In a nutshell, a person who resembles Jesus is a master. I bless you all to glorify God as you become masters of the faith. How do I become a master of the faith?
1. You must become a mature person in faith.
Let's look at verse 1. 1 We the strong ought to bear the weakness of the weak, and not please ourselves.
As in today's text, we must become spiritually strong. The word strong here means “maturity”. Then, how can we become spiritually strong and mature?
1) First, you must become a person who knows God well.
If we do not know God, the object of our faith, we can never become a master.
Who is God? I need to know what God wants from me and what God hates. To do this, you need to learn and know the Bible properly that God has revealed to you. Only then will you become a mature person, a spiritually strong person. However, those who doubt whether the God who created the heavens and the earth, or the One who gave life to him, is alive or dead, is the succubus.
2) You must become a person who properly knows who you are.
If I, who serves God, live without knowing myself, how can I lead a proper life of faith? But the problem is that very few of us really know ourselves.
Many people see themselves in an illusion. Some people are overconfident in themselves, while others look at themselves with an inferiority complex that is too pessimistic about them. That's why I make mistakes and I'm so disappointed. But the masters of the faith know themselves rightly and live.
We must see ourselves in two ways. One is the negative side. “I am a sinner and I am so weak that I cannot help but be judged by God.” Another positive aspect is, “I am a being loved by God. I am weak, but God holds me and I am strong. I am God’s chosen servant.” You need to know this.
But the sewers do not know themselves. That is why I am arrogant, I am arrogant, I am arrogant, and I am swearing. Peter before receiving the Holy Spirit was such a person. If everyone else were to deny you, I assured you that I wouldn't. That rumor was true. But he did not know how weak he was. The man who denied three times in front of women that he never knew him because of fear of death and hardship, he did not know that he really was that kind of person. So he was a servant of faith, but after receiving the Holy Spirit, he became a mature and strong person.
3) People who know exactly what their mission is and risk their lives for that mission. Mature people and spiritually strong people must also know what their mission is. Therefore, you must risk your life for that mission to be a master of faith. So, the apostle Paul is the master. When he did not know God properly, he lived his life as an enemy of Jesus. But after meeting the Lord, he became a new person and eventually became a master.
Listen to his confession. Look at Acts 20:24. “I do not regard my life as of any value in any way, in order to finish my course and the mission I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”
This confession is the confession of the master. Is this confession cool and beautiful? Can you also confess like that? Then you are also a master. In the end, the adherents of faith are those who know the guidance of God and live according to the guidance. To become a real master
2. We must love and serve those who are weak in faith.
Look at verse 2. “2 Let each one of us please our neighbor, for the good and for the edification.” Who are the weak believers in the faith?
1) People who do not have faith and do not have spiritual discernment, they are people who do not know who God is and who they are.
Spiritual children. There are people like this in every church. It can be called the sewage of faith. Who serves such weak saints? Strong saints and mature saints should serve. Why are they so young that they have no discernment and no ability to judge values? There are many reasons, but the biggest one is ignorance. They do not know God's grace, nor do they know the truth of salvation. As a result, they are forced to act like a child. That's why I'm not the kind of person who can only be rebuked blindly. have to teach And you have to serve. Everyone! Who is to blame when a one-year-old is beaten up for pooping? At that time, she looks pretty even if she poops well. As such, first-time believers are extraordinary people even if they only come to church. Then openly do this, do that, and then you will get a mask.
2) They are self-centered in everything.
So you should always encourage and give for your sake. When you do hard work, you should applaud. When something is difficult, special attention should be given to it. That's how it grows. It can't be like that forever, but if you do it anyway, you will gradually grow. At that time, even if you poop, it's not cheap. Then you will have discernment, and you will be able to discern what you are ashamed of.
Therefore, it is not easy to serve such a sewage. But for that reason, the person who serves such a person is a master.
why? Because I don't bully anyone that much. Only those who are able to discern and obey even when they hear such rebuke, and those who will be sweetly greeted by such scoldings, will hear such a voice. Such a person is a master of the faith. Therefore, they are the ones who should serve the servants of the faith and set an example for them. But if a person who should set an example does such a foolish thing, I can't help but be rebuked. The true gourmet
3. We must live for the glory of God, not for self-satisfaction.
The religious life is not a hobby. Therefore, you cannot give joy to God to the extent that you can go to church when you have time and not come when you do not have time. Masters of the faith should play at the master level. The sewers can never please God to the extent that they please Him.
How do I do that? The purpose of your religious life should be different.
As the servants of faith, the purpose of their religious life is “self-pleasure.” Why do you live by faith? It is done for “self-satisfaction”. And do it to be blessed. We live by faith for our own family, our children, our own health, and our own happiness. Then it's sewage. The coriander should be different. Gossip is not something you do for yourself. The purpose of your religious life should be to glorify God. And I need to do good and build up so that others may benefit from me. Only then will God recognize us as masters. Look at our Jesus. The Lord has never worked for himself, despite being criticized and reviled by millions of people.
Look at verse 3. “Christ did not please Him, as it is written, The slander of those who slander You has come upon me.”
Our Lord has never done anything for himself. You have endured all kinds of hardships and hardships only for the benefit of God and His people who sent you to this earth. The Pharisees condemn it. The priests and scribes condemn and accuse Jesus. Nevertheless, the Lord does not hesitate to carry out His ministry. If our Lord had worked for self-satisfaction, he would have immediately proved that he was the Son of God. However, the Lord silently took up the cross because he had to carry out the work of salvation entrusted to him by God. So, the path of the masters of the faith is difficult. It is difficult. You have to live that way though.
Are you a master? Or is it still sewage? God wants you to live as mature Christians. Therefore, I wish you all the best of spiritual masters. However, you must become a master recognized by God, not a master recognized by people. A true master does not ignore sewage. And a true master must love and care for the sewer, and strive to serve and help the sewage stick. And I'm not proud of myself for being a master. Always humble yourself and say, “I just know the way.” while leading the weak saints.
Are you guys high school? Do you think that you naturally became a master because you have been in the faith for several decades? But please take a look at yourself.
Am I really an expert? Matthew 20:16 says, “In the same way, the last shall be first, and the first shall be last.” These words seem to make us look back on our faith once again.
Time doesn't make coriander. A true master is one who always looks back, reflects, and awakens his faith. Don't forget that the best requirement for a true master is humility.
That's why we need to look at Hebrews 12:2. “Let us look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” You did.
In the same way, we pray that you will look to Jesus, our true master, and be patient like Him, endure like Him, and receive the crown of glory.